ethics and literature

Running head: OPTION THREE 1

Option Three

By

[JENIS PRAJAPATI]

April 25, 2021

OPTION THREE 2

The fight against racial discrimination and prejudice in America is as past the country

itself. Clashes between superior and inferior regions of society because of skin color affect

society's social, economic, political, and legal position. At that time there were systematic racial

discrimination exists in every institution racism has been entrenched within it. Despite the

Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights' imposition, "all men are created equal,"

American society still failed to impose equal standards for everyone. Similarly, at that time, the

concept of democracy has been violated. Democracy means that every individual can equally

participate in decision-making, but there was nothing such rights available to African Americans

and racially depressed people. There were numerous reasons behind racial injustice and

discrimination, such as a flawed justice system, unequal resource distribution, cruel government,

inequality in social institutions, and unequal policing practices.

Numerous fighters against racial discrimination and slavery emerged, such as Langston

Hughes and Martin Luther King were two prominent figures who raised their voices against

racism and racial inequality. Writings and movements against racial prejudice played an essential

role in highlighting the issue. Hughes played his part in raising African Americans against the

inequality they are facing. Through his poetry, plays, novels, and essays, he promotes equality

and convinces African Americans to stand for their rights. Apart from this, Luther King's role in

motivating people through his words and speeches like "I have a Dream."

Racism as the hierarchy of white and black people along human lines creates numerous

complications in society. For decades American society still lacks equality and justice.

Westernized elites from the first world have recreated racial injustice and ethical violation at a

significant level. All the efforts made to eliminate racial injustice and slavery from American

society years ago fail to influence American society for a long time. Because today, the

OPTION THREE 3

difference between African Americans and White Americans in social, economic, political, and

legal institutions still exists and exploits African Americans' lives at a considerable level.

King and Hughes's work aimed to eliminate systematic racial inequality from society and

allow racially minor people to speak for their rights. King's speech regarding American society

shatters his vision to see Americas as equal and just for everyone. Both Hughes and King were

Negros, which is why they understand the pain of Negros and racially depressed people. Their

work reflects the pain of African Americans and their vision for a just and equal America where

no one will face discrimination and injustice. For example, Hughes's poem "Negro" is an appeal

to understand their position in society. The poem's purpose is to highlight that the difference

between white and black Americans is vital that never let black Americans exercise their interests

(HUGHES, 2018).

The word Negro is associated with oppression, and they are considered as people to be a

slave. Throughout the poem, Hughes reveals his identity as being slave, poor, oppressed, and

negatively exploited in every situation. Along with his identity in the poetry, Hughes is

explaining the history of African Americans. He also highlights the type of discrimination they

face in society. Such as he talks about, employment is a form of discrimination they face. African

Americans fail to establish their identities on social, political, and legal grounds because of their

race. This is the form of racial inequality that still exists in the 21st century. In the 21st century,

legal institutions are corrupt that fail to maintain a just social system. Employment

discrimination is in practice regarding compensation, prestigious positions at work, management

responsibilities, and retaliation (Mz Sincoff, 2006). Despite the developments and advancement

in every field, racial injustice still exists that is questioning the future of American society.

OPTION THREE 4

In his speech "I Have a Dream," King’s words, “But one hundred years later, the Negro

still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the

manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro

lives on a lonely island of poverty amid a vast ocean of material prosperity,” that are relevant

even today. When he addressed this speech and today, the status of Negro is still the same. Like

the day when the speech was addressed Negro’s are segregated and suffering even today. The

existence of systematic inequality is widening the gap between white and black Americans. For

example, research highlights that the median wealth for black and Hispanic families was

allocated as $17,600 and $20,700, while during the same year, the wealth given for white

Americans was $171 000. The reason for the massive gap between the allocation of funds and

income to families is their race and the prevailing systematic injustice. Research from 2016 also

indicates that African Americans indicate 1/10th of the total wealth than white Americans (Hanks,

Solomon, & Weller, 2018). Black Americans are less likely to own their houses than whites

because of having less wealth and affordability power. These statistics show that Martin Luther

King's words were accurate, and our society is still there without making any further progress for

racial inequality.

In his speech, he further argues that "I have a dream that one day on the red hills of

Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down

together at the table of brotherhood, (King, 2018)" but sadly his dream didn't come true yet.

Instead of widening the wall between them over time, beliefs and perceptions about racial

inequality become strong, and people, instead of coming on the table of brotherhood, scattering

away by accepting race as a measurement scale. African Americans are still deprived of their

rights to liberty, freedom, justice, and equality. An example from the current society indicates

OPTION THREE 5

that we have not achieved the desired America of King. The existing legal system of our country

is not addressing punishments and legal decisions based on fair laws and principles, but one's

racial and ethnic identity shapes decisions. For example, the country's criminal justice system

takes punishment cruelly for African Americans while using a leniency when it comes to

punishment decisions for white Americans. Researchers say that in 2014, 72% of prisoners were

black Americans while 16% were white, which shows a massive gap between the practice of the

criminal justice system. Statistics show that African Americans are not free and liberal in the

state. They are legally bound based on wrong standards (Bertrand, Mullainathan, & Abrams,

2001).

Whether it is about healthcare benefits or social security benefits, policies implemented

over the state clearly define a gap of opportunities for African Americans or racially depressed

people. The purpose of Hughes, King, and numerous other influencers in history was to raise a

voice against racial discrimination to eliminate it from society and establish a just and equal

system. But despite their innumerable efforts and concerns regarding American culture, we are

still there. The race is a more vital element in the United States that exploits millions of lives

every day. It is ironic that even after decades of struggles and sacrifices, African Americans fail

to achieve an equal social, economic, political, and legal system. The writings of Hughes and the

speech of Kings reveal their higher expectations from American society that it will grow one day

out of all inequalities and discrimination as an equal territory protecting everyone regardless of

race. But unfortunately, their perceptions and expectations didn't come true. Everything same,

and Negro's are being exploited at a similar level. Struggles of centuries to eliminate inequality

and the injustice-based race go waste because superior white people still believe that African

Americans deserve to be a slave. Employment, education, healthcare, social welfare, government

OPTION THREE 6

sections, legal institutions, and everywhere race dominate the system. Thus, we have not moved

so far in racial equality in American society.

OPTION THREE 7

References

Bertrand, M., Mullainathan, S., & Abrams, D. (2001). Discrimination in the Judicial System.

Randomized Evaluation, https://www.poverty-action.org/study/discrimination-judicial-

system.

Hanks, A., Solomon, D., & Weller, C. E. (2018). Systematic Inequality. Centre for American

Progress,

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2018/02/21/447051/systematic-

inequality/.

HUGHES, L. (2018). The Negro Speaks of Rivers.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44428/the-negro-speaks-of-rivers.

King, M. L. (2018, January 10). 'I Have A Dream' Speech, In Its Entirety. Retrieved from

https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety

Mz Sincoff, M. Z. (2006). Retaliation: The Form of the 21st Century Employment

Discrimination. 1-8.

The main issue with the essay is that it lacks a thesis statement (the sentence at the end of

the intro that states the main argument of the essay). The thesis needs to specifically state how

things today compare to either the dreams MLK speaks about or the Hughes poems we looked at

(make sure to only write about the Hughes poems that were assigned for this course).

Eliminate any background info about the history and the authors’ bios in the body of the

essay (as stated in the assignment instructions). You may include a bit of this in the intro, but it is

unnecessary in the body of the essay.

OPTION THREE 8

In order to make the main argument of each body paragraph clear, it’s a good idea to use

topic sentences. Since you should be comparing either the speech or the poems to what’s going

on today, the best way to do this is to use each body paragraph to focus on one specific part of

the literature, and then compare that to today. If you’re focusing on MLK’s speech, you could

use each body paragraph to discuss one dream or aspect of the speech, and then discuss how we

are doing today.

The paper needs some editing to fix grammatical issues. I’m not allowed to edit student

papers for grammar, but you can make an appointment with the writing center to have someone

go through the essay with you.

Additional comments are above.